Mythologist | Author | Speaker | Illustrator
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Articles
Our Unique Culture
When one steps back and looks at large trends in human history, one can see that to the west and east of India are two very distinct ideas, neither of which inform Indian ways of thinking. In that regard, Indian thought may be considered unique…
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How Did Invasions Change Indian Culture?
The invader generally takes wealth away from a place. He also takes people as slaves. An invasion can take over the economic and political systems, changing the culture of the land over time…
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A Supper With Bacchus In India
Both Jesus and Bacchus have an Indian connection. Many argue that Jesus visited India, probably Kashmir, and learnt Buddhism here and the concept of Sangha (Church). Likewise, in Greek mythology, Dionysus, god of wine, known to Romans as Bacchus, came from India, with wild chemicals, drugs, mushrooms, juices, wines, and alchemy that drove people, especially…
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When Inclusion Becomes Intrusion
The people who created the phrase “free speech” are the very same who have created “hate speech”. It took some time for those promoting “free speech” to realise that not all speech is good, decent and respectful…
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When Spitting on Someone Is Considered Good Luck
The idea that Muslims spit on food is now spreading virally across Indian social media. It is seen as some kind of Islamic practice to contaminate Hindu food, the claim is made by people with a long history of trying to demonise the Muslim community and therefore needs to be taken with a large dose…
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Words of Savarkar
We are so spellbound by the Savarkar-Gandhi rivalry, the Veer-Mahatma competition, the violent/non-violent politics, we ignore the role played by Savarkar in creating new words for a new India, for he was part of the Hindi/Urdu debate, and he wanted Hindu India to have Hindu words…
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Ancient Indian Fashion Today
How old is Indian fashion? It is extremely difficult to prove continuity in the realm of fashion history…
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Being Cultured In Japan
When we refer to culture, we typically refer to the packaging and the performance – music, costumes, food, dance, literature. We never talk about mindsets…
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How Pottery Offers Glimpses Of Cultures
Once pots were invented, humans could carry food and water wherever they went. This is why pots became objects of worship…
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No Harappan Kalidas In Sight
We confuse literacy with wisdom. This is because when subjects like history and archaeology and linguistics were being invented in the 19th century, colonial scholars declared civilisation begins with writing…
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Articles
Artificial Intelligent Slaves
So the origin of slavery and the origin of the working class really comes from the human desire not to produce one’s own food, but to outsource the work to others while enjoying its fruits…
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Unwrapping the Meaning of Culture and Civilisation
Culture is what we are, civilisation is what we have. It suggests that culture is more psychological and about values, while civilisation is more material and about goods, technology, art and architecture. Can one exist without the other?…
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Was Vedic Manu the Original Leftist?
When we defend dharma, dharma defends us. When we protect the weak, we are protected by the strong…
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Articles
Trust In Currency
Does the buyer trust the value of the token being given to him by the seller? Today, we trust a number appearing on a screen as money. That is how much we trust technology…
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Articles
Maritime Culture of Jambu-Dvipa
India’s long coastline experiences monsoon winds that create a highway over the seas, connecting the Middle East (Shveta-dvipa, white island) to Southeast Asia (Suvarna-dvipa, golden island) via India (Jambu-dvipa, land of Indian black plum). …
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Articles
Bollywood Wives and Brothels
Bollywood encourages housewives to dance in public and courtesans to pine for lovers. This conflation now has made its way to wedding altars…